


Other Woman, The

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-04-03
Updated: 2002-04-03
Packaged: 2019-05-15 14:59:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14792702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: In this world, Donna decides to join the second Bartlet campaign.





	1. Other Woman, The

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**The Other Woman**

**by:** Dee 

**Category/Pairing:** Josh/Donna  
**Rating: MATURE**  
**Notes:** I'm off and running on another AU. It's basically all I can write until the "evil" one is gone. For those who think I've abandoned my little GG crossover... well, I guess I have, but I will return to it someday. I promise. I just need to clear the Amy hurtle. 

And for those who believe I must have exhausted every AU avenue... I've still got a few left up my sleeve. There really is an infinite way to get these two together. Hope you all don't get bored because in a way this is going mimic, Comeback, it's just going to be from the other point of view. 

In this world, Donna decides to join the second Bartlet campaign. 

Spoilers through current.   


A cameraman tried to hold the camera steady as he focused in on the reporter's face. People were running and screaming all around them, but the reporter was determined to hold her position. They were about ten feet from the body. The cameraman zoomed out to get a shot of the paramedics racing to the fallen woman. He could see her blond hair and blood. He thought he might be sick. 

"I repeat the Secret Service has subdued the shooter. The President has been taken to a secure location. And the lone gunman has been taken into custody. As far as I can tell there was only one victim. Sir.. sir..." The reporter grabbed a man staring at the woman on the ground. "Did you see anything?" 

The young man wearing the large Bartlet for America pin turned to the reporter. His face was ashen and his hands were shaking. 

"Sir, did you see anything?" 

"I ... she... There was a guy. He pushed his way up close to the stage. We, I mean the volunteers from the Bartlet headquarters, were allowed to be in the front row. But this guy pushed his way up. Donna..." 

"Is that the woman's name?" the reported grilled. 

The cameraman cut to where the paramedics were pushing people away. He saw them lift the woman on the gurney and attach an oxygen mask to her face. One man held his hands firmly over her chest. He could see red coming through his fingers. At least they were still trying, he thought. 

"Yeah. Donna. She worked on the campaign. She was really nice. Everyone liked her. She saw him take the gun out and she jumped on him. She just jumped on him. Like it didn't matter. Oh my god. She just jumped on him." 

"Did you actually hear the gun go off?" 

"It was muffled. She had a coat on..." His eyes turned back to the scene and the reporter and cameraman followed his gaze. 

An ambulance had driven up through the crowd surrounding the podium where the President had been giving his speech. He'd been speaking on the same stage where he'd made his reelection announcement. It was the eve of the New Hampshire primary. 

The SS agents had all but evacuated the crowd and those remaining, mostly campaign workers and volunteers, had backed off far enough to let the ambulance through. The camera followed the woman into the ambulance and held the picture there until the doors closed. 

From inside the school the staff remained glued to the television. Each of them was still in their own stage of shock. 

"I can't believe this happened again. I just can't believe it," Sam said. "This shouldn't have happened again." 

"It did," Toby said staring at Josh, judging his reaction. 

"Stop staring, Toby. I'm not going to go off the deep end." 

"You sure you're okay?" 

"The president was just shot at ... again. This woman, who stepped in front of the gunman, is... not good. How the hell do you think I am?" 

"Okay. Just checking." 

"Did any of you know her?" CJ asked. "That man said her name was Donna." 

"I did," Sam said. "Katie picked her from the volunteers to help manage the office. She asked me if we could include her on the team full time. Apparently, she was a wiz at organization." 

"I met her once," Josh said watching the ambulance move out of view of the camera. "I stopped in at headquarters. I asked for a cup of coffee and she told me to go across the street to the diner and ask a waitress." 

CJ chuckled softly. "Then I guess I would have liked her." 

Josh's cell phone rang and he answered. "Lyman. No... Amy, it's fine. I'm fine. Yeah, the President is fine. He was just some nut. One. A woman. We don't have an official ID on her yet, but she worked at the office in Nashua. No, I'm staying for a while. Yeah, don't worry about it." 

He clicked off his phone and stared at it. He wondered why he hadn't thought to call her. They were officially a couple now. He should have called her. 

"I'm going to go to the hospital," he announced suddenly. 

CJ shook her head. "Do you think that's a good idea?" 

"I want to go, CJ. I want to find out who she is." 

"Josh as soon as they know, they'll call me. They're setting up the gym now. I'm going to have to brief in a few minutes..." 

"CJ, I'm going. If I find anything out, I'll let you know." 

He left the classroom and three of them watched him go. 

"It's not a good idea," she said. "This is going to bring it all back." 

"Too late," Toby muttered. "Come on. We need to... do what we do. Sam, start talking to your people. See what they can get on the gunman..." 

Josh sat in the waiting room and shifted his ass for the fifth time. It was all but numb now and he was beginning to realize that if he didn't get up and walk, he might lose feeling in it permanently. 

He was just about to stand when he spotted Leo walking through the doors of the emergency room. 

"Hey." 

"Hey. What are you doing here?" 

"Same thing you are. I came to check on the girl." 

Josh nodded. 

"The President wanted to come, but I wouldn't let him. They're very convinced the guy acted alone, but ... I'll be happier when we're back in Washington. Any word?" 

Josh shook his head. "She was shot at point blank range on her left side. It shattered a few ribs and deflated her lung and exited pretty ugly out the back. They're operating on her now, but they said she lost a lot of blood. They didn't really sound too hopeful." 

"They didn't sound too hopeful when it happened to you. You lived." 

Josh nodded. 

"What are you doing here, Josh? Did you know this girl?" 

"No. Not really. Just met her ... once." 

"So why are you here?" 

"Her name is Donna Moss. She's from Wisconsin. I found out from one of the volunteers she drove all the way here to sign up for the campaign. Her father just passed away and ...her mother died when she was a kid so it was just the two of them. She's got no one Leo." 

"She's got friends from the campaign..." 

"These are people she met two weeks ago. And none of them know any of her friends from back home that they might be able to get in touch with. This girl... this woman took a bullet for the President, Leo. I don't want her to ... you know... alone." 

"Okay. The rest of us are flying back to Washington." 

Josh stood and felt the blood rush into his legs and butt. Damn that felt good. "Okay. I'll be there tomorrow. I just... I just can't leave right now." 

Leo nodded. "You going to be okay?" 

Josh smirked at him. "Everybody thinks I'm going to spaz out." 

"It would be okay if you did." 

"I'm okay, Leo. Really. It was ... surreal, but I've got it under control now. I just want to see if she makes it. That's all. I'll leave as soon as I know." 

Leo left and Josh took the opportunity to walk the corridors of the small hospital. He wondered if this was what it must have been like for everyone the night he got shot. There would have been at least four people sitting for him in the waiting room. 

All she had was him. And all he knew about her was that she didn't fetch coffee. 

"Mr. Lyman?" The doctor came out in his scrubs, his mask still tied around his neck. 

"Is she..." 

"She's a fighter. She's hanging on. We were able to re inflate the lung and close up a lot of the lacerations left by the bone splinters. Our biggest concern now is her blood pressure. It's very low... but like I said she's hanging on." 

"Can I see her?" There was really no reason why he should want to. In fact now that he knew she had made it through surgery he should just leave and see if he could catch Air Force One back to DC. 

"She'll be out of post-op in a minute. Follow me." 

Josh followed the doctor down a hallway then through some doors. He pointed to a room off to his right and Josh saw an orderly roll the gurney in to the empty room. 

"Just a minute. Then we need to take her up to ICU." 

He considered leaving. There was really no need for him to be here. In fact she probably wouldn't have liked it. He was a stranger to her and she was laid out in a flimsy hospital gown with just a sheet to cover her. 

He stared down at her face and wondered how it was possible that someone so pale could be alive. But he saw her chest move up and down and heard the faint sound of her breath passing through her lips. 

A blond lock of hair escaped the hair cap she wore. It was as pale as her face and he could see blood matted to the end of it. For whatever reason it made him want to cry. 

"When you wake up, you're going to be in a lot of pain," he whispered to her even though her eyes were closed. "And you're going to think that you can't bare it. But you can. You just need to see beyond the pain. Focus on a spot beyond it and then just keep your eyes on that spot." 

Her eyes didn't open, but she continued breath. And with every breath she took he realized he wasn't going anywhere until she opened her eyes. 

"Hi." 

Donna blinked her eyes. 

"You're awake. You've been out for a few days. How do you feel?" 

She blinked her eyes twice. Her mind was hazy, and her mouth felt like she'd been snacking on sawdust. She wanted water but when she took a deep breath to try to form the word, pain lanced through her left side. 

The man standing next to her bed sat up instantly. 

"It's your ribs. The bullet cracked them, so it's going to hurt to breath. Just take short shallow breaths." 

"Waaater." 

"I can do ice chips. I had a thing handy in case you needed them. I remember waking up and feeling like they dumped me in a desert somewhere." He pushed one past her lips ever so gently. 

"Who?" 

"You don't remember me?" 

She thought she should. It tickled at the back of her mind. But with him dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans all she could think of was that he didn't look much like a doctor or a nurse. 

Gently she shook her head. 

"I'm Josh Lyman. The Deputy Chief of Staff for..." he could see the light click on in her eyes. "Yeah, you wouldn't get me a cup of coffee," he smiled. 

She smiled a little too. Then her eyes started to droop. 

"Oh no. You've got to stay awake. I've got to get a nurse so she can see you. Just hold on a few more seconds. I know you don't think you can, but force yourself okay." 

She nodded. After all it wasn't every day you got orders from the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. 

He left and returned seconds later with a nurse behind him. He stood there awkwardly for a few minutes as the nurse took her vitals. "I'll just wait outside." 

He left the room and walked down the hall. He felt his beeper vibrate and was grateful for the distraction. The hospital had a strict no cell phone policy but there were payphones on every floor. 

Josh made his way to the one on this floor and punched in a long series of numbers. Amy answered on the first ring. 

"What's up J?" 

"Nothing. You beeped me." 

"Right. I beeped to say what's up. Why are you still in Nashuah?" 

"I ..." have no idea, he thought. She'd been unconscious for two days and he wanted to wait and make sure that she woke up. "She woke up." 

"That's good. So she's going to live." 

"Yeah." Why the idea that she almost didn't made his own chest tighten, he wasn't too sure. 

"So when are you coming home?" 

That was weird. She was using the word like they lived together. They didn't. They were just dating. Seriously. As she told him, he was to introduce her as his girlfriend at functions. For him that was pretty serious. He didn't have girlfriends. He mostly had failed attempts. 

"I guess to..." He was going to say tonight, but changed his mind. "Tomorrow. I won't be able to get a flight out until then. So I'll call you sometime tomorrow night." 

"Okay. J, you sure you're okay? I mean I don't think I get why you needed to stay. You didn't know her, did you?" 

"She worked for the President. On his campaign." 

"Josh thousands of people work for the President on his campaign. Did you know her?" 

"No. Not really." 

"Should I be worried?" 

"Worried about what?" 

"You tell me?" 

"She was shot, Amy. She tried to grab the gun and she was shot." 

"So this is really about you being shot." 

Her comment irritated him. As if the only reason he was staying was because of him and what he was feeling, rather than her and what he knew she was going to go through in the next couple of months. "She works for the President. She was shot. She has no one. I stayed. It's no big deal." 

"And you're coming back tomorrow?" 

"Yeah. Sometime tomorrow." 

"I'll see you then." 

He heard the phone click and came to another realization. She always hung up first. Then he dismissed the thought and went back to Donna's room. 

"She's asleep," the nurse said coming out of the room. "But she's doing very well. Much better than we hoped." 

Josh nodded. So he would go back to the hotel, stay one more night, then stop by tomorrow on his way out of town. 

Or maybe he would stay one more day. One more day wouldn't kill him. And that way he could get a better idea of what was going to happen to her. After all she was going to need someone. He'd had his mother, and then the private nurse she'd hired for him when he just about drove his mom around the bend. By the time he drove the nurse around the bend he was all but back on his feet. 

Donna was going need someone. He just wanted to be sure that she understood that. 

Then he would leave. 


	2. Other Woman, The 2

**The Other Woman**

**by:** Dee   


"Have any threes?" 

"Go fish." Donna stared at the three of clubs situated in the middle of her five cards that she held awkwardly in her left hand. She felt a little guilty for lying, but not too much. After all she was gunshot victim. She was entitled to win at Go Fish. 

"You're cheating," Josh told her. "I know you have a three." 

"How do you know I have a three?" 

"I peeked at your cards." 

Donna considered making a comment to the affect that they were both pretty pathetic to be cheating at Go Fish, but she was starting to feel her strength waning. 

"Take it out." 

Josh plucked the card from hand and slapped his pair on the bed. The slight motion was just enough to shift her, which was just enough to cause a wave of pain. She hissed and Josh immediately focused on her face. 

"A bad one?" 

She gritted her teeth and nodded. 

"You want a pill?" 

She shook her head when she felt the pain ebb. "Tell me this will go away." 

"It will go away," he assured her. "In time." 

"How much time?" 

"Four weeks at least until you feel human again." 

"Okay, I hate you." 

He smiled and turned when he heard the door open. 

"And how is our national hero this morning?" 

Donna looked at the too young too chipper doctor who moved at lightening speed into the room with an easy motion that she envied. She wished she had the strength to slap the smile off his face. 

"I hurt." 

"You were shot. I imagine that you would." 

Her bed was tilted at an angle so as not to put too much pressure on her ribs, but up enough that she could still play cards with Josh. She had a special air pillow behind her so her bandages weren't in direct contact with the bed, but something about her pain didn't make any sense. 

"I don't get it. I was shot in my left side, but I can barely move my right arm." 

The doctor nodded as if that made perfect sense. "See the bullet entered you here," he said indicating with his finger a spot that would be under her breast on her left side. "It passed through your right lung, deflating it, then exited out your back which cracked several of your ribs. When we operated we went through your back. Ended up having to cut through a lot of muscle and tissue back there so it's going to be a while before you gain full use of your arm. And I have to say there is a nasty scar back there from where the bullet ripped through the skin." 

Josh watched Donna's face turn green. 

"Hey, can we by pass the ripping and stuff," he told the doctor. "You're grossing me out." 

"Oh sure. Sorry. The good news is you just have the entry wound scar in front. Everything else will pretty much be out of view. Now Mr. Lyman, if you would excuse me I need to check to see how her scar is healing." 

"Oh sure." Josh got off the bed and stepped back. 

The doctor moved in and carefully bent a grimacing Donna forward and undid her hospital gown. It spilled forward and for a quick second Josh could see her breasts before he turned his back. 

Man, he hadn't meant to do that. He knew what it was like to have his privacy invaded by strangers and so he'd made sure that he was always out of the room when the nurses were fussing with her. 

But the doctor had moved fast and as a result he'd seen her breasts. 

They were pretty. White and round. He bet they were soft too. He shook his head of the image. He shouldn't be thinking about how pretty her breasts were. He had a girlfriend. She had nice breasts too. That's right, he told himself. Think about Amy's breasts. 

"Okay, all done. You're healing very nicely, Donna." 

"Good genes." 

"Pardon?" 

"Good genes," she repeated. "My father always said we had good genes. Right up until he got cancer that is." 

Josh cautiously turned around and was relieved to see that the doctor had refastened the tie of her gown. No more breast viewing for him. And that didn't disappoint him. It really didn't. 

"I think maybe another week here and..." 

"I can't stay." 

"Why not?" Josh asked. 

"It's February." 

The doctor and Josh exchanged a glance. But to Josh the answer wasn't all that odd. In the few days he'd spent with Donna he'd begun to learn that her thinking wasn't linear. It was more along the lines of circuitous. Which meant eventually she would explain why February was a completely legitimate answer to the question of why she couldn't stay in the hospital another week. 

"I don't understand..." the doctor began. 

"You see I went part time when my father took a turn for the worse a year ago. I had to go on COBRA to continue my health coverage. I'm only allowed eighteen months and this is that month and it's February so there are only twenty-eight days. Today is the twenty-fourth which means I can only stay another four days before I'm cut off." 

See, it made perfect sense, Josh thought. And the fact that it did freaked him out a little. 

The doctor shook his head. "Donna I don't know that you have much of a choice. If you had someone to take care of you I might allow it, but as it is you're not going to be very mobile." 

"I can't stay. My father left me some money, but I need it to start a new life, get an apartment. I can't afford a hospital bill." 

Josh could see the anxiousness crowding her expression and stepped in. "I'll talk it over with her Doc. We'll let you know." 

The doctor nodded. "I'll check on you tomorrow." 

He left and Josh carefully lowered himself on her hospital bed to avoid jostling her. 

"I can't stay," she reiterated. 

He studied her face and saw the determination in her eyes. He was guessing this was her stubborn face. He wondered how strong her stubborn streak was. 

"What will you do?" He decided to approach this from a logical standpoint although he already had a pretty good idea what the end game was going to be. However, as a consummate politician, he had learned over the years it was better to let your opponent come to the conclusion on her own. It would make her feel as if she had more control over the situation. 

"I can go back to the hotel in Nashua and stay there for a few days. It's cheaper than a hospital." 

"Yeah, but everyone from the campaign has already left. You won't have anyone around to help you if you need it." 

"I guess... I could drive home to Madison. I mean it's just driving, it's not like it takes a whole lot of effort." 

"Yeah. Sure. You in a car for what twenty, twenty-two hours, on pain medication no doubt. I'm sure that would be no problem." 

She scowled at his sarcasm. "Okay, I can't drive home." 

"Do you have anyone who could fly out here?" 

"No. My best friend, the one who would normally be here in a heartbeat, just had a baby. She called and offered but... I couldn't do that to her. She's a new mom." 

"So it looks like you're stuck. You know if it's a question of money there are an awful lot of people, news organizations, magazine, who would pay for your story. Young beautiful woman throws herself in front of a bullet meant for the President. You're the nation's newest hero. It's a helluva story." 

Gently she shook her head and dismissed the fact that he'd called her beautiful. It was just a phrase. "I don't want to do that. I don't want to be hounded like that. The truth is I feel mostly stupid about the whole thing. I wasn't thinking Josh. I didn't say, oh my there is a man with a gun, let me throw myself on top of him and save the President." 

"What were you thinking?" 

She shrugged her left shoulder. "I don't know. I don't remember." 

"You will," he told her gently. 

"I don't think so. I really don't remember." 

"You will. But we'll deal with that later. For now that brings us back to the question I asked in the first place... what are you going to do?" 

She turned away from him because she didn't have the answer. 

It was time to move in, he decided. "I have an idea." 

"You do?" 

"Yep." 

"You planning on sharing or are you going to make the nation's newest hero grovel?" 

He waited. 

"Josh!" 

"I'm thinking." 

She would have hit him if she had the strength. 

He laughed. "Okay, this is going to sound crazy, but hear me out. I've got to head back to DC. My vacation time is officially up. How about I drive you there?" 

"What am I going to do there?" 

"Well, you're not up to working on the campaign. It takes its toll on the healthiest of people. Trust me, I know. But that doesn't mean you can't work for the administration. I can get you a job anywhere. Katie said you were amazingly organized." 

"I was an office manager for three years." 

"So, I'll get you a job as an assistant. I'd hire you myself, but people would talk. It would be too obvious why I was giving you the job. But I know the Undersecretary of Defense is going to need someone in his office in a few weeks. How would you like to work for the Pentagon?" 

Donna said nothing. She just stared at him intently. 

"And in the interim, until you're back on your feet and ready to work, you can stay with me. I've got an extra bedroom." 

She snorted in response. 

"What?" 

"I can't stay with you?" 

"Why not?" 

"Josh, I've known you for less than a week." 

"Not true, we met two weeks ago. You wouldn't bring me coffee." 

"You're still harping that?" 

"Yep." 

"Josh." 

"I'm serious, Donna. You're going to need someone to look after you. You haven't even begun to realize the kind of toll this is going to take on your body, forget your mind for right now. I've been there. I can help you." 

"Why?" 

He sighed and attempted to gather his thoughts. How did he explain this? "Getting shot is surreal. And it doesn't happen to a lot of people. In a way it's sort of like being in a club. And you're the newest inductee and I want to sponsor you. That's all. I can lend a hand and an ear when you need one. If I do that, then it will be like something finally good came out of what happened to me. And there is nothing fishy about this. I swear. I have a girlfriend, you can barely move. It's not like I'm staging some big seduction scene." 

Donna smiled and shook her head. 

"What?" 

"I'm actually considering it, and that just shows how far I've fallen down the rabbit hole since my father died." 

"You're going to need help, Donna. I know it sucks. And the truth is I don't know how good I'm going to be at offering it. You might not know this about me, but I'm not exactly what one would call a caregiver. I tend towards the self-centered side of the personality scale." 

And yet he'd come to see her every day since she'd been in the hospital. "Maybe you're not as selfish as you think." 

"No, I can be pretty selfish. The truth is I can't be around a whole lot. But I already have work out equipment for when you're ready to start therapy. And it's better than staying in a hotel by yourself. In end, you'll get an apartment and you'll have a job in DC." 

"What is your girlfriend going to think about having an extra roommate?" 

"We don't live together. And she wants me to help you out." At least he was mostly sure that she would want him to help Donna out. He hadn't actually run it by her yet. But she had come to accept that he needed to stay in New Hampshire for a while. So he was sure she would come to accept this too. 

Donna was skeptical. If what he said was true then she was one understanding girlfriend. But she couldn't think about that now. She could feel her body shutting down and she knew that she couldn't hold off sleep for another minute. 

"Sleep on it," he told her automatically sensing her need to rest. "I'll be back tomorrow." 

Donna nodded and closed her eyes. She felt him lift himself off the bed carefully and heard him leave the room. 

Her last conscious thought was that she was sad he had girlfriend. And that she was going to go with him to DC. 


	3. Other Woman, The 3

**The Other Woman**

**by:** Dee   


"This is a piece of junk." 

"Don't talk that way about my car." 

Josh stared at the car that he knew had been built in the late eighties. That couldn't be a good thing what with it being the.... yeah still no name for their current time period. Personally, he liked post nineties. 

"It's okay. It's an American car. They're very sturdy," Donna added. 

Josh eyeballed the dull red two door Ford. "How many miles?" 

"One twenty." 

He almost choked. "We are not driving this down to DC." 

"I'm telling you Sally is very reliable." 

"Sally?" 

"You know the song... Ride Sally Ride..." 

Josh continued to look skeptical and he also looked at her like she was a little bit crazy. But lets face it she was a little bit crazy. She was getting in a car and driving to DC with a man she hardly knew all because he was shot and so was she. Which reminded her... 

"Josh, make up your mind because I have to sit soon." 

Instantly he sprang into action. They had taken a cab back from the hospital to the hotel. After the shooting, he'd gotten one of the campaign volunteers to pack up all her stuff and move it into his room. This morning he'd taken her a loose fitting pair of sweat pants from her suitcase and had given her one of his flannel shirts, which he knew would be easier for her to get on. 

Despite his lack of faith in the car he, dropped both her suitcase and his duffel bag and moved around the car to open the passenger side door. He had what he called the hemorrhoid pillow, which she politely called her shoulder pillow, already in hand. He got into position and eased her down into a sitting position making sure the donut hole of the pillow was under her shoulder. Once she was inside the car he used the lever to lean the seat back. 

"Okay, let's try the seat belt, but if hurts too bad we'll take the shoulder strap off and just leave the lap belt in place." 

As gently as he could he fastened her into the seat and when he clicked the belt into place he waited a beat for her reaction. 

She seemed to be assessing the situation too. "I think I'm good." 

Josh nodded and backed away closing the door. He stuffed their luggage into the minuscule trunk but was careful not to slam the trunk too hard. He prayed that 95 south wasn't too bumpy. He could tell that she was still fighting the pain, but she was reluctant to take the pills unless it was an emergency. 

She said they made her loopy. 

He said it wasn't such a stretch. That made her smile, and he'd felt like a king for bringing that smile to her face. 

He eased into the driver's seat and situated himself. He didn't have to push the seat back at all and instinctively turned his eyes to her legs, which he realized must be incredibly long. He was a legman. Amy had long legs. Maybe not quite as long as Donna's but they were definitely long. And hers were the only legs he should be thinking about, he told himself. 

Once he had his own seatbelt on, he was about to put the keys in the ignition when something occurred to him. 

"Uh oh." 

"Uh oh, what?" 

"It's a stick." 

"Is that a problem?" 

He turned to her. "No, no problem. I can handle a stick. .... it's just been a while." 

"Been a while since you handled your stick, huh? The advantages of having a girlfriend I guess." 

That caused him to do a double take. "Donna!" 

"Sorry," she said contritely. "But you totally lobbed that one over the plate. I had to hit it out of the ball park." 

Josh smirked at her then focused his attention on the stick walking himself through the gears. He hit the clutch a few times trying to get a feel for that too. 

"It releases at the very end. You practically have to lift your foot off of it," Donna told him. 

The thing that worried Josh is that he knew if he didn't get this right there was going to be a lot of jerking, which was exactly what she didn't need. 

Donna placed her hand over his on the clutch and for a moment the contact went straight through him. So much so that he was actually tempted to jerk his hand away. Then he got a grip. It was probably just some static. 

"Here, I'll move the stick. You move the clutch." 

"That never works." 

"Well, it's my shoulder in question, so I say we give it a try. When I say clutch, you push it in, and when say ease off do it. Ready?" 

Josh started the car. 

"Clutch... ease." 

Josh moved his foot in time with her commands, and before he knew it they were out of the parking lot, on the main road, and then getting on the exit ramp for the major highway. In five easy moves the car was in fifth gear and moving along with the rest of the traffic. 

"That never works," he mumbled to himself. He didn't know why it bothered him, but it did. They just met and yet they had worked together like a well-oiled machine. Coincidence, he told himself. Nothing more. He was making too much out of nothing. 

***** 

Three hours into the drive the road before them was steady and long. Donna had slept off and on and in between tried to distract Josh from the monotony of driving. 

"California." 

"Sacramento," Josh replied instantly. 

"Maryland." 

"Annapolis." 

"New York." 

"Albany. Stop giving me the easy ones," he complained. 

"South Dakota." 

"Pierre," he replied easily. 

"This isn't any fun," Donna pouted. 

"You're just mad because I've gotten them all right." 

"It's not a fair test. You work for the government. I would be a little nervous if a highly placed member of the President's administration didn't know all the state capitals." 

"Sore loser." 

Donna waited a beat. "Iowa." 

Josh had to think about that. 

After a minute Donna raised her left fist in the air. "Hah!... Ow," she shouted lowering her arm after a wave of pain from her victory shout shot through her body. 

"Serves you right." 

"You still lost," she told him thinking that her victory was worth the pain. 

"I didn't lose. I don't lose until you can name the capital of Iowa." 

"Of course I know the capital of Iowa it's... it's...Iowa City!" 

Josh laughed. "That's not even a real city." 

"Is to." 

"You are such a sore loser." 

"It's just that I so often win," Donna pouted dragging the recess of her mind for the stupid capital of Iowa. 

Josh smiled at that and was about to say something in return when his phone rang. "Lyman. Oh yeah, hey Doug. No. No. Look Doug that's between you and Toby. I'm not getting in the middle of it. Do you have the numbers for Illinois yet? Okay, let me know when you do." 

He clicked off his phone and scowled. 

"You guys don't get along with Doug." 

It was a statement rather than a question. "He's okay. He's doing his job. It's just hard for us. We're used to doing things our own way. Now these new guys come in and ... well there's friction." 

"I know Doug. He was at headquarters a lot." 

"Yeah?" 

"He made a pass at me." 

That got Josh's attention. "Did he..." 

"No, no. It wasn't anything smarmy. He just asked me out for dinner." 

"I wouldn't go out with him." 

"I hope not," Donna smiled. 

"I mean, I wouldn't go out with him if I were you," he corrected himself. Then thinking he should probably offer an explanation as to why, although he really couldn't think of one other than Doug didn't seem to be her type, he said, "He doesn't know what torpor means." 

"It means inactivity or apathy." 

"Yeah, I know what it means. He doesn't." 

"So I shouldn't go out with him because he's got bad vocabulary?" 

"Good vocabulary is the cornerstone of all communication." Josh had no idea what that meant, but it sounded good. 

Donna just laughed. "I said no. Not because of his lack of vocabulary, but now that you point it out I'll make sure to check my next date's verbal SAT score. I said no because I didn't want to date anyone. I wanted to be taken seriously." 

"You were afraid you wouldn't be if you went out with someone on the campaign?" 

"I was new. People didn't know what to expect of me. I didn't want my first accomplishment to be landing a date." 

"Okay." There was a wealth of information there, he thought. He wondered about her lack of self-confidence, and what had happened in her past to make her think that dating someone was equivalent to losing respect. He considered asking her, but decided to drop it. It wasn't his business. He was just doing this, taking her back to DC, to help her get on her feet. He didn't need to know her life story to do that. 

"So I guess this means there is no one waiting for you back in Wisconsin." See that was exactly the kind of question he absolutely didn't need to ask. What the hell did he care if she had a boyfriend? Although if she did have a boyfriend and he had neglected to show up after her getting shot, Josh was going to tell her to dump him. 

"No," she said immediately. "There was. But I ended it." 

"Why?" Okay, so he couldn't stop himself. It was just because they were stuck in a car with hours left to drive. The conversation just made the time pass easier. 

"He didn't love me." 

She said it easily as if she had come to accept that fact long ago, but he figured it had to still hurt. He found himself becoming irritated with a man he didn't even know who had the audacity not to love this girl. She was brave, and smart, and funny and... whoa! Not going there. She was just a person in need of some help, and despite every instinct he normally had to the contrary, he had decided to lend her a hand. That was it. 

"I think I might love Amy," he blurted out. 

"Your girlfriend?" 

"Yeah." 

"How long have you been together?" 

"Six weeks. Actually a little longer if you count when I actually started pursuing her. But she had this boyfriend I had to get rid of first." 

"Get rid of?" 

Josh took in her worrisome expression. "It's not like I killed him." 

"Okay." 

"I just proved to be the better man." 

Donna smiled a little relieved. "How did you do that? Did you woo her with your vocabulary words?" 

"Hey. 760 verbal. It didn't hurt." 

"Are you going to marry her?" 

Suddenly he saw black then dots form before his eyes. He forced himself to concrete on the road and felt Donna smacking his back and yelling at him to breath. 

He took several deep breaths until the dots faded. 

"Okay, Josh. Just a little piece of advice. You might not want to have that same reaction if she ever brings up the topic of marriage." 

"I'm okay. I'm okay. I just ... marry... no, no, no. We're not there yet. Marriage! I mean I say six weeks and you say marriage!" 

"No. You said you loved her and I said marriage." 

"I said maybe. I might love her. I didn't say definitely. And I certainly didn't say marriage." 

"Okay. Relax. I'm sorry I said anything about marriage." 

Josh could feel the tightness around his chest start to ease and cursed himself. What the hell happened? All she did was ask a simple question and he'd gone ballistic. He thought he'd been making strides, moving forward, growing up. He could feel his sweaty palms slip against the steering wheel, and realized that he wasn't growing up as fast as he would like. 

But did that have to do with Amy or him? 

"I'm going to sleep," she told him. 

He glanced at her quickly and saw that her eyes were already closed. One thing he knew for certain, whatever anxieties he was suffering because of his relationship with Amy, it had nothing to do with her. He wouldn't let it. 

"Oh and Josh?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Des Moines. I win." 

He absolutely would not let it. 


	4. Other Woman, The 4

**The Other Woman**

**by:** Dee   


"And here is the bathroom. We have to share." 

Donna looked at the bathroom that had recently been cleaned. By a maid no doubt. Some how she didn't see Josh on his hands and knees cleaning a bathroom before he left for the New Hampshire primary. 

She spotted the second toothbrush and scented lotion and other feminine bath supplies in a basket on top of his toilet bowl and thought not for the first time since agreeing to do this, that she had made a huge mistake. 

This man was with another woman. A woman he was just beginning a relationship with, a relationship that he thought might be serious. And she was crashing the party, despite the fact that he had invited her. 

She knew it. It's just that lying in that hospital bed in Nashua, she'd been overcome with a sense of loneliness that had hurt more than being shot. She missed her father, her friends, even her lousy ex-boyfriend. She couldn't remember what had motivated her to pick up her life and decide to follow Bartlet across the country, but lying in that hospital bed she had started to regret it. 

Considering that decision had resulted in getting shot... she had really started to regret it. 

Only Josh had been there. Every time she woke up he was there. Every time she woke up he tried to make her smile. He made her feel less lonely and for that she would always be grateful. 

But she couldn't do this. She couldn't stay here with him. In this place that he was just starting build for himself and another woman. 

"I'll show you your bedroom. I called Sally, she helps me out with cleaning and stuff, and asked her to air the room out and put fresh sheets on the bed and stuff." 

Donna followed him down a hallway that led to a second bedroom. There was a twin bed in one corner and a bunch of exercise equipment in the other. The bed had a nice fluffy pillow on it. 

Donna decided she might take a nap first. Then she would tell him she couldn't stay. 

He put down her suitcase and watched her. "You're tired. I can tell." 

She could only imagine what she looked like. She knew she felt worse. And she had this horrible urge to whisper, "Please sir, I want some more." 

Josh walked over and turned down the bed for her. "Look, it's late enough you should be able to sleep through the night. I've got to go into the office for a little while so if you do wake up and I'm not here don't worry. Okay?" 

She nodded wordlessly. She could feel him watching her, studying her, probably wondering what was going through her mind, so she figured she would clue him in. 

"Why did you do this, Josh?" 

"I told you." 

"I know, but I'm here now. And your girl friend's stuff is all around and I keep asking myself... why did you do this?" 

"Because I did," he said irritated that she had to press. As if there had to be some other answer. 

"You know I expected to find you with some stray cats and dogs and maybe bunnies." 

"Yeah. They can't feed themselves though." 

Donna smiled. "I'm going to go to sleep." Then, when she woke up, she was going to figure a way out of this mess. 

"Okay. And don't worry about it, Donna. Really this is no big deal." He left and she couldn't help staring at the door. 

This was a huge deal. He just didn't get it. 

"Hey," Josh said into the phone. 

"You're back." 

"I'm back." 

"Where are you now?" 

"The office. My inbox was a disaster. I swear someday I'm going to find a decent assistant." 

"J, if you tell me you're hiring her..." 

"No. I'm not," he said quickly. "I didn't mean her. Actually, I'm going to get her a job in the Pentagon working for the Undersecretary of Defense. He needs someone in a few weeks because his assistant is leaving to get married." Josh hoped she hadn't caught the gulp in his voice when he said the "m" word. 

"How is she?" 

"Okay." 

"And how long do you for see her living with you?" 

Josh grimaced. "She's not living with me, Amy." 

"Is she in your house?" 

"Yes." 

"Is she using your bathroom?" 

"Yes, but..." 

"She's living with you, Josh. I can accept that. I really don't have much choice but to accept it, but let's not beat around the bush. She's living with you. How long will she continue to do so?" 

Oh yeah, this conversation wasn't going to end well. Josh rubbed a hand over his face and felt the nine hour long drive catching up with him. All he wanted to do now was go home, have a beer, and crash until morning. Then, when he had some energy, then he could deal with Amy. 

"I don't know. Look, Amy I'm exhausted. I just wanted to let you know I was back. I'll call you tomorrow and we can talk." 

"Fine." 

Great. Now she was pissed at him. It always amazed him how much emotion a woman could pack into the word, "Fine." So he'd left Donna with her looking at him like he was some odd alien from Mars, and his girlfriend was pissed at him. 

Try to do a good thing and this is what happens. Maybe that's he had avoided doing this kind of stuff before. 

"What did you expect me to do with her?" he finally snapped out. "She was shot, Amy! Shot! Do you get that? As in a bullet ripped through her body and almost killed her. It's not like she's some hard luck case I decided to help out, or some campaign groupie I adopted. She worked for the President. Did a hell of a job, and got shot for her efforts. She was alone and I helped her. I don't get why this is such a mystery to everyone." 

"I said fine." 

"Yeah, right," he mumbled. "I'm sorry I snapped. I'm tired." 

"You've never gotten short with me before. I mean high strung sure, but never short." 

"I'm sorry," he repeated. He'd never gotten short with her because he'd spent most of his time trying to convince her he was "Da Man." Doesn't really pay to get short with someone when you're trying to get in her panties. 

"It's okay. So we'll talk tomorrow. Maybe I could come over?" 

Donna and Amy together. Sure no reason why that should be a problem at all. One was his girlfriend; the other was a woman he shared something in common with so he was trying to help her out. Perfectly innocent. No reason why the two of them couldn't meet. 

"Uh..." 

"You don't want me to come over." 

"No. I didn't say that." He wanted to say it. But he wouldn't. "It's fine for you to come over. She's a little weak ... and she sleeps most of the time... and I think if your intent is to arm wrestle her, you're probably going to win." 

Amy actually chuckled. "I just want to meet her, J." 

"Okay. Tomorrow is Sunday. I'm taking a bunch of stuff home with me tonight. So I'll be around all day tomorrow." 

"Fine." 

That was a better fine. 

Donna wandered out of the bathroom in her flannel pajamas that she had struggled into after Josh had left her last night. 

Her teeth were clean, but she hadn't been able to raise her arm high enough to brush out her hair. She looked ridiculous, but after ten minutes of hissing in pain she decided to forget it. After all it's not like she had anyone to impress. 

"Morning," she said announcing her presence. 

He was on the couch in a pair of worn sweats and a t-shirt, papers sprawled out all around him. Currently, he was reading something and jotting something else on a pad he had situated within reach on the coffee table. It was a pretty awesome display of multitasking. 

He looked up over the back of the couch and smiled. 

He had dimples. She didn't think she had realized that before. Wow. He was really cute when he smiled. 

Donna shook her head a little bit, to erase that thought much like one would erase a bad drawing an etcher-sketcher. 

"Morning. How are you feeling?" 

"Okay." Lousy. Her knees felt a little wobbly, although that could have been from the flash of his dimples, and she still couldn't move her right side. She shuffled over and sat in the open spot he'd left on the couch. 

"You're stiff as hell. You just woke up after ten hours of sleep, but you think if you tried you could sleep for another five hours, and right now you're thinking about how many small subtle shifts it's going to take before the pain eases." 

"Hey, John Edwards... you thinking of taking that show on the road or what?" 

"Who is John Edwards?" 

"Never mind." Donna shifted, then shifted again. There it was. No pain. 

"You know I got the impression that you were thinking of leaving last night." 

"I was thinking of leaving. That was before I realized I couldn't even brush my hair." 

"It is sticking up in places." Josh slid over and tried to use his fingers to flatten out her puffs of blond hair where they stuck out. It was so blond he found himself looking for roots, but there weren't any. And it was soft. Whisper soft. And it smelled different from Amy's. Not better or worse. Just different. A more subtle scent he thought. Then, when he came to conclusion that he was spending way too much time fussing with her hair he dropped his hands. 

"Does it look better?" she asked. 

"Actually it's worse." 

"You're a real help." 

"I try. Are you hungry?" 

Donna considered that. She was hungry. For the first time since being shot she could actually say she had an appetite. Maybe this was something she could do. Maybe she could fix breakfast for her and Josh and when she accomplished that she would at least have a little more faith in herself that she could live on her own. 

Rolling to her left, she used her left hand to lift herself off the couch until she was mostly standing. It hurt, but she could do it. She wasn't a total invalid. 

"Where are you going?" 

"I'm going to make us breakfast," she said shuffling back to the kitchen. Once there she opened the refrigerator. "Josh." 

"Yeah." 

"You don't have anything in here except for four beers and I think something that might have been a block of cheese about a year ago." 

"Yeah, I don't do much grocery shopping." 

Donna opened his cabinets and found paper plates, paper cups, and an empty jar of peanut butter. 

"You weren't kidding about the shopping." 

"I usually eat out or order in. I can run down the street and pick you up a bagel or something." 

"How about we go to the grocery store? I can buy some groceries." 

"You're too weak." 

"I'm not. At least not now. In an hour I'll be shot, but I want to do this Josh. It's important that I do this." 

"Buy me groceries?" 

"I know it seems silly. But if I'm going to be here, I want to try and contribute. And besides I'm going to need more than beer if I do decide to stay here for a few days." 

He knew this was about more than food and groceries. He remembered being cooped up in a hospital for days on end just wishing he could get out for a little bit and walk around. "One hour. And I'm timing us." 

He set the alarm on his watch. 

Donna through a coat over her pajamas and slid her feet into her sneakers. She borrowed a wool cap from Josh to put on her head to cover the rat's nest that was currently doubling for hair. 

He shrugged his coat on and led her down to his Audi, a significant step up from her Ford. He eased her into the passenger side and watched as she attempted to get the belt around her herself. She did it, but paid a price for it. There was a bead of sweat on her upper lip. 

He turned the ignition and paused. 

"What's the matter?" 

"I have no idea where the grocery store is." 

"And you help run our country. I think I'm frightened." 

He got a cart and Donna willingly gave him pushing rights. Of course he also had lifting the food products off the shelves and putting them in the cart rights too. Basically, all Donna did was point. 

"Hey, can we get these?" Josh asked holding the box out in front of him. 

"Coco Puffs? Gross." 

"No, they're cool. It's chocolate and breakfast all in one." 

She rolled her eyes, but shrugged her left shoulder. "Okay." 

He dropped the box into the cart. 

By the time they got to the last aisle, Donna had seen to it that they had rice, pasta, sauce, pre-made meatballs, chicken breasts, lettuce, tomatoes, a frozen vegetable medley, yogurt, wheat bread, some deli meats, eggs, milk and juice. 

Josh had added the Coco Puffs, hardening shell chocolate syrup, vanilla ice cream, four boxes of Super Hero Mac and Cheese, hotdogs, fruit roll ups, and squeezable cheese. 

When they got to the check out counter, Josh motioned for his wallet, but Donna gave him a look. 

"You said you would let me buy." 

"Donna..." 

"I mean it. Consider it a down payment on my rent. I need to do this Josh." 

Women, he thought could be so weird about stuff like this. "Fine." See and that fine meant exactly how he said it. 

Josh packed up the groceries and thought how amazing it was going to be if he came home late at night and wanted a snack. 

He could actually have one. 

They made it back to his place with fifteen minutes to spare and Donna had enough strength left to direct him as to where all the groceries should be stored. She had this freaky system of base carbs on one shelf, junk food on the shelf above it so it wasn't the first thing you reached for, ice-cream always hidden behind the vegetables and all of the condiments lined up in alphabetical order along the inside refrigerator shelf. 

"Katie was right. You really are an organization freak." 

"Every thing in its place, Josh. Now it's too late for breakfast. And I'm waning fast. How about we just cut up some hotdogs and mix them in with the Mac and Cheese?" 

His mouth practically watered. "Really? We can do that?" 

"You don't get out much." 

"My mom used to do that with Mac and Cheese," he said nostalgically. 

"My dad used to do it for me." 

"You miss him." 

She nodded trying to hold back the tears. She wasn't ashamed of them; it was natural to cry over a lost parent. But she was looking for a pot to boil water in and tears wouldn't make that easier. 

She found one in a cabinet under the sink. When she was stronger she decided she would move those pots the more appropriate cabinet. Using her left hand she put the pot on the counter, then turned on the faucet, then filled the pot, then put it down, then turned off the water. 

See, she could totally do this, she told herself. She set the pot on the stove and turned the gas on high. 

"I miss mine too. You know it doesn't matter how old you are when you lose them." 

"No it doesn't." 

"When did you lose your mom?" 

"I was only five. She was killed in a car accident. Then it was just the two of us. But my dad was great. There were times I missed having a mother, but he never let those times last for too long. He was everything I could have asked for." 

"My sister died when I was young," he said softly wondering why he was telling her. It wasn't something he often discussed. "I think it changes you when you lose someone when you're young. It leaves you a little off balance. Not quite as sure about the world as you should be. Like other kids are." 

"No. We're probably not like other people," she agreed and reached out to lay her hand on top of his. It was supposed to be a gesture of comfort and understanding. But it was more than that. 

Their eyes met and the contact was intense. A wealth of emotion and communication passed between them without either having to say a word. Donna broke away first when she heard water boiling. 

"Can you get me a box of the ... stuff," she said trying to get control over her suddenly pounding heart. 

"Sure," he said opening the cabinet and staring into space until he too had some idea of what the hell just happened. 

One thing for sure though, he didn't think it was going to be fine. 


	5. Other Woman, The 5

**The Other Woman**

**by:** Dee   


"You've got to do it," Josh said into the phone. 

"But it's heavy." 

"It's a weight." 

"Hence the heaviness issue." 

"Donna, you're never going to regain full use of your arm if you don't start doing those exercises. If you're not going to do them on your own, I'm going to call Irene back." 

"No, not her. She scares me." 

She scared Josh too. That was the point. His mother was no idiot. Irene had threatened him through every blasted exercise in the book until he was better. He'd called her and she had come over and basically designed regimen for Donna. Donna couldn't afford Irene's services full time but if she followed the program it would dramatically increase her mobility and strength. 

"Why couldn't you have had a hunky physical therapist name Sven?" 

"Irene's hunky," he teased. 

"Fine I'll lift it. But let me just say five pounds is a lot heavier than it used to be." 

He heard the phone click and he hung up his own phone smiling. 

"Hey." 

Josh looked up to see Sam. "What's up?" 

"Nothing I just wanted to get your opinion on the Education thing." 

"I like it." 

"Me too," Sam concurred. Then he smiled. "So you and Amy are still going strong. I think that's great." 

"Yeah," Josh answered slightly confused. "What made you think of that?" 

"That was who you were talking to on the phone just then wasn't it? You had this smile on your face..." 

"That was Donna," Josh said abruptly. Probably too abruptly. 

"Oh." 

"She's having a hard time with therapy." 

"You hated therapy," Sam reminded him. 

"I know." 

"I didn't mean anything just then," Sam said trying to back out of whatever corner he believed he'd backed himself into if Josh's scowl was any indication. "I just saw you smiling and assumed... but it was Donna. So that's fine." 

"She found an apartment. She's moving out next week." 

"That soon." 

"Yeah. She isn't back to full strength but she can move around much better and she wants to leave." 

She told him the other night. She had already paid the first and last months rent on a place in Adams Morgan without telling him. Hell, he hadn't even seen the place, but she was excited about it so he hadn't wanted to say anything. 

She told him to call Amy right away and tell her that she was leaving. Donna said that she would sing the Alleluia song, whatever the hell that was. 

So Josh had made the call and Amy had said ... fine. Amy was fine a lot these days. 

"Good for her. And she's going to start working for Chuck the week after." 

"Yeah." Her own job. Her own place. That was ... fine. Suddenly, Josh let out a rush of air. "I'm blowing it, Sam." 

Sam walked in and shut the door behind him. "Blowing what?" 

"Amy. This thing I have with her. I'm blowing it." 

"So she wasn't crazy about you taking care of Donna. Not many women would be that understanding, Josh. I mean look at her." 

"Look at who?" 

"Donna." 

"What about her?" 

"She's gorgeous." 

Gorgeous. It wasn't necessarily a word he would use in relation to Donna. Maybe because for the most part he'd only seen her in sweat pants, flannel shirts, pajamas and hospital gowns. Gorgeous implied that he was lusting after her. And that wasn't the problem. What he felt for her was softer, not as urgent. It was much more comfortable than gorgeous. 

He remembered the glimpse he got of her breasts. They were pretty. But he didn't think he was blowing this thing with Amy because of any kind of sexual attraction that he had for Donna. 

He thought he might be blowing it on purpose. And that's what he was afraid of. 

"You're probably right," Josh agreed. "Once she's gone things will be back to normal." 

"And you'll hardly ever see, Donna." 

Hardly ever see, Donna. The fact that his stomach just twisted probably wasn't a good thing. 

He was definitely blowing it. 

"You know I expected to see you a few weeks ago." 

Josh turned away from the window to look back at Stan, who was sitting in his leather chair, and wondered for the fifth time what had possessed him to make this appointment. 

"Why do you say that?" 

"The President was shot at again. It's only natural that you would have a reaction to that. Have you been having nightmares?" 

"No." No, he hadn't been. And that made him curious. 

"Why do you think that is?" 

"I guess that's why I'm here." 

"Did you hear about the woman who was shot?" 

"Donna Moss." That was the reason he was here. "Yes, I heard about her. In fact I sort of helped her out." 

"How did you do that?" 

"She was alone. Both of her parents are deceased. I ... stayed at the hospital... and brought her back here with me so I could watch out for her. I figured I would know how to help her." 

Stan nodded. 

"I'm crazy, right." 

"Or a good Samaritan." 

"No, come on. Sure, I'm not having nightmares or shoving my hands through glass, but this is just as strange. I'm in a relationship now. I have a girl friend. I shouldn't be bringing strays home just because she was shot. That's what this is all about. It really is all about my reaction to her getting shot." And he hated that about himself. 

"You're being too hard on yourself, Josh. Why did you want to help her?" 

"Because I thought I could help her work through all the things she was going to experience." 

"And have you helped her?" 

"Yes. She's better." 

"So maybe you just wanted to help her and you did. And helping her helped you cope with all of the feelings that resurfaced." 

Josh nodded. He wished it was that simple, but he knew it wasn't or he wouldn't have felt compelled to come here. 

"Do you have feelings for her?" 

Josh sat in the chair opposite Stanley's and brooded. "I have a girlfriend." 

"That doesn't really answer the question." 

"But that's my point. I don't know if I have feelings for Donna. I don't know if what I feel is real or just some knee jerk reaction I'm having as a way to escape from a relationship. When I first started seeing Amy, she said I was hit and run. She said I didn't want a relationship, that all I wanted was the chase. I don't want her to be right. I don't want to be the kind of man that would make me." 

"So you are forcing yourself to stick it out." 

"Yes! I'm going to stick this out. I went to a lot of effort to get her. I had to beat another guy out..." 

"Ah a competition." 

"A tough one. He was a congressman." 

"Josh..." 

"But it wasn't just that. I liked her. I do like her. I just..." 

"Have feelings for Donna." 

"But I can't trust them." 

"Because you think your feelings for her are just a manifestation of your fear to commit yourself to a relationship. And that you are using her to distance yourself from Amy because it's easier to blame a break up on another woman than it is your own insecurities and fears." 

"Okay." 

Stan smiled. "Let me ask you something Josh, are you really afraid of not being able to commit to a relationship or do you just really hate the idea that Amy is going to say I told you so." 

"I would say it's about 50/50." 

"Let's try something because clearly you are upset by this..." 

"You don't think I should be?" 

Stan held up his hand in a gesture of calm. "I'm more interested in what you think. Let's take the two women in question. What do you like most about Amy?" 

"She's totally confident," Josh answered immediately. "She should be. She's smart, she's beautiful, and she's funny. She radiates confidence." 

"And you like that." 

"Absolutely." 

"Does Donna radiate confidence?" 

"No. Well... no. She's different. She's doesn't have what Amy has. She doesn't have the fancy degree or Amy's money. But she's not a mouse. And she's strong. Donna is someone who may not have the appearance of self-confidence but she's someone who is always going to land on her feet. She's a survivor." 

"And you like that." 

"Yeah. I do. And the thing about Donna is..." 

"What?" 

"She's easier." 

Stan raised an eyebrow. 

"No, not that kind of easy. I mean she's easier to be with." Josh stood then and began to pace a little trying to work it out in his head. "But maybe it's just easy to be with her because there is no pressure. We're not trying to have a relationship. We're just hanging out." 

"What do you do?" 

"We play cards. We talk about politics, but more generally than I do with Amy. With Amy it's always about policy. Donna and I grocery shop. She let me buy Coco Puffs." 

When he'd shown Amy the Coco Puffs she asked him why a grown man in his right mind would want to eat Coco Puffs. As a result he didn't show her his Super Hero Mac and Cheese. 

"No," Josh said stopping his train of thought. "I'm not giving up on this. I wanted a relationship. I was ready for a relationship. I have a relationship." 

"And you're not going to let a little thing like falling for another woman get in your away." 

"Exactly!" 

Stan waited until his words penetrated. 

Josh turned and scowled at him. "I'm not falling for her. She's the other thing. She's the manifestation and I'm not going to let it stop me." 

"Josh, sometimes life doesn't have to be as complicated as we would like to make it. Sometimes, it is just life. You met a woman you found attractive and so you pursed her. You got to know her a little better and you discovered that maybe she isn't the one for you. Or maybe you didn't realize she wasn't the one until you met someone else you liked better. It happens. It's what dating is all about. Trying to force yourself to be with a woman you're no longer interested in just because you don't want to prove her right... now that's crazy." 

He nodded but his stubbornness wouldn't let him accept it. "Thanks. But I'm going to try to work it out with Amy." 

"That's your choice. If you want my suggestion, maybe take a break a from Donna." 

The twisting feeling was back in his stomach, but ruthlessly he ignored it. "She's moving out next week." 

"Good. Don't see her for a time. Concentrate on Amy. Let your feelings for her dictate your actions." 

"So what you're saying is..." 

"Trust your gut. I found that it often points you in the right direction in matters of the heart." 

Josh left the office wishing he'd felt a little better about the conversation. He stopped on the way home and had a drink. For a moment he'd considered getting drunk...In Vino Veritas... and all that. But he dismissed it. 

He didn't want to know the truth. 

By the time he got home Donna was in her room and the door was closed. He resisted the urge to check in on her as was his habit when he came home late. Instead he headed for the fridge and decided one more beer wouldn't hurt. He opened the door, reached inside and stopped. 

A-1 steak sauce, Gray Poupon Mustard, Heinz Ketchup, Hellman's Mayonaise, and Ken's Ceaser salad dressing. All in order. 

"No!" 

The muffled shout startled him. Instantly, he ran back to Donna's room and threw open the door. She was sitting up, tears streaming down her face, her eyes were open, but he knew she didn't see him. 

He sat on the bed and grabbed her face between his hands willing her to wake up. "It's okay, Donna. It's just a dream. Wake up. It's just a dream." 

Finally, her eyes cleared. "Josh," she whispered. "I remembered. I saw his face and I remembered." 

"I know. It's okay. It's good. You need to remember." 

"No, I don't want to," she cried. "It hurts." 

He ached for her. He knew how it hurt and that it was happening to her hurt him too. She shouldn't have to go through what he went through. But she was. 

He pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back until she quieted. "I know it hurts. But it will get better. Just like your shoulder. It just takes time." 

He eased himself on to the twin bed and she wrapped herself around him. He kicked off his shoes and settled in knowing that he wasn't leaving her until she was asleep. 

"It's going to be okay," he whispered and squeezed her a little tighter letting her know that he was there for her. 

Too bad she was just a manifestation, he thought as he dozed off to sleep, because she felt really good in his arms. 


	6. Other Woman, The 6

**The Other Woman**

**by:** Dee   


"Josh." 

Josh stopped typing and turned to find CJ in his doorway. "What's up?" 

"Can I preface this conversation by saying please don't get mad?" 

"Sure, but here's the thing, anytime anyone prefaces a conversation with that, it usually means that they know what they are about to say is going to make the other person mad. Is what you're about to say going to make me mad." 

CJ considered this. "Probably." 

"So let's just assume that despite your preface, the conversation is probably going to have the anticipated affect. The question is do you care if I'm mad?" 

"No." 

"Then that settles that." 

"Right. I talked with Donna Moss yesterday." 

Some day he was convinced that his stomach would not clench at the mention of her name. "About what?" 

"I want her to do the talk shows. ABC's after her, Larry King wants her. We're coming up on Michigan. It will give us a lot of good indirect press. Remind the people that this is a President who has been shot at twice and survived so a little thing like MS is nothing in comparison." 

"No." 

"Not only that, she was a campaign worker. This was a woman who believed in Bartlet despite his condition and threw herself in front of a bullet for him. If a woman like her can forgive him so can the rest of the country." 

"No." 

"She's got the right look. She'll be on magazine covers, and Bruno is thinking of using her in a campaign add." 

"Absolutely not!" 

"Too late. She already said yes." 

"What! I know that's not true. I know she didn't want to have anything to do with the press." 

"Yes, but when I mentioned that this sort of press could really help the President's campaign she agreed. She worked to get this man elected, Josh. This is her chance to really make a difference." 

Josh glanced back to the computer screen that showed the email he was in the process of sending her. She'd replied to the email he'd sent her this morning, a ritual that he had fallen into since she started working for Chuck, but there had been no mention of her conversation with CJ. 

"CJ," Josh said trying to sound more casual than he felt. "She's been remembering the shooting. She's been having nightmares. What if she falls apart?" 

"She said she won't. She wants to do this, Josh and we need her. I'm setting things up for next week." 

With that she left and Josh turned back to his computer. His email to her this morning had been one word: 

Okay? 

Her response had been: 

Yep. Saw you on TV last night. Your tie didn't match your suit. 

He'd been in the middle of typing a response that indicated his mother had given him that tie and he had to wear it, but he deleted those lines and wrote another one: 

What the hell do you mean you're doing Larry King? 

Josh hit the send button. Fifteen minutes later his computer dinged letting him know that he had new mail. He opened it and shook his head. It simply read: 

Bartlet for America. 

"Hey Chuck." 

"Josh. What brings you down here?" 

"I had some business with Nancy," he said absently mostly because he was lying. "So tell me, how is Donna working out?" 

Chuck smiled. "Great! Don't tell Mary this or she'll never forgive me, but she's more efficient than Mary was on her best day. She worked part time with Mary the first week, which helped I think. Eased her in to things and let her get her wind back. Now she's a trooper and running the place like she's been here for years." 

"Good. Great." 

"Yeah. Usually you guys pull strings and we're left with some twit. Donna's a gem." 

Josh nodded. "Is she around?" 

"She was headed for the cafeteria. It's her lunch." 

Josh followed the signs through the hallways and spotted her at a table by herself with a cup of yogurt and a magazine. He hadn't seen her since he'd helped her settle into her apartment. Not that there was much settling. She'd bought a couch that had a pull out bed and a television. He'd hooked up her cable and shown her how to unfurl the bed and put it back. 

Now she was wearing a dark suit and she looked different. This was work Donna. She looked just as Chuck described... efficient and ... pretty. 

His stomach tightened again. But he was getting used to the feeling. And even more used to ignoring it. 

"Hey." 

She looked up. "Hi. This is a surprise." 

For him too. This wasn't part of the staying away plan as recommended by Stanley. Of course emailing her every day probably wasn't part of the plan either, but he was able to justify that since he wasn't actually seeing her. 

"I wanted to see how you were settling in?" He sat down across from her. 

Donna looked confused. "You email me every day and basically ask me the same thing." 

"Yeah, but that's not the same as seeing." 

"Ahh. I see. I'm doing good." Donna studied him for a moment. "You're here to talk me out of doing Larry King." 

"I don't think you should do it." 

"I'm okay. And this will help the President. Right?" 

"It might, but you don't have to use getting shot as some kind of vote getter. It's personal." 

"I know. And I'm not going to give up the gory details of my life. But you said talking about it would help. So I'll tell them as much as I can remember. CJ's vetting me now and digging out all of my past scandals to make sure I don't embarrass you." 

"Do you have any scandals?" 

"I got suspended in high school once for drinking before the prom." 

"We can live with that." 

"Yeah, but what I didn't tell CJ was that I puked on my dress. It's how they caught me." 

"Any pictures?" 

"No." 

"I think the President is safe," he teased. 

"I dropped out of college to support my boyfriend then had to settle for a two year degree just so I could get a decent job." 

"Now that was stupid." 

She grimaced a little. "That's what my dad said." 

"Wise man." 

"I used to strip for a living." 

Josh's jaw dropped. "You did not!" 

"No," she smiled. "I just wanted to see that look on your face." 

"So you really are okay with this?" 

She nodded definitively. "I think so. I want to do this. Besides CJ says I'll probably land a bunch of dates." 

Oh great, he thought, another reason to get behind this plan. 

"I actually already had one," Donna mumbled staring intently in to her yogurt. She wasn't sure why her stomach was rolling at the thought of telling him, or why she even felt the need to tell him, but she did. He was a friend. 

"Yeah?" 

"His name is Cliff Calley. Mary knew him and said he was cute and funny so... we went out on Friday." 

"Cliff Calley," Josh repeated. Forget twisting. His stomach was now just one large fisherman's knot. "He's a Republican." 

"I know. But that doesn't make him all bad. Does it?" 

"I thought you weren't interested in dating." 

"I wasn't interested in dating on the campaign. But this is different. I'm not dating someone I work with." 

"Right. You're dating the enemy." 

Donna flushed a little. "Is that really how you think of all Republicans?" 

"Yes," he answered quickly. All Republicans that dated Donna. "No," he said finally letting reason seep through. "Calley... could have been a lot worse... to us. He was the lead council for Judiciary during the hearings." 

"I didn't know. He said he was with Appropriations." 

"He is now." 

"Oh. I won't see him again if you don't want me to." Donna could have bit her lip. "Never mind. I shouldn't have said that. I mean I can see him if I want. Your opinion really doesn't matter. Not that it doesn't matter completely or in any area of my life. After all we're friends. It's just that it can't matter in this area. Because we're not... you don't... you have Amy. And I can see other people and ...will you please take this plastic spoon that very conveniently came with the yogurt cup and stab me in the tongue with it." 

Josh chuckled. "It's okay, Donna. Calley's an ... okay guy. You should go out with him again if you want to." Because he was in a relationship with Amy. And a man who was happy and secure in his own relationship should not have any problems with a friend, albeit a female friend, going out with another man. 

"Good," Donna sighed and tried to stem the dribble of disappointment that she felt. 

"So when are you seeing him again?" 

"Tomorrow. Just dinner. I still can't go full days. I get tired too easily. So he's going to pick me up here after work for a quick bite." 

"I should leave," he announced and stood up. 

"Okay," she said staring up at him, not ready for him to leave. She'd been shocked by how much she missed him in the three weeks since she'd moved out. She told herself it was just because he had taken care of her and so she'd formed a close attachment to him. But there were days when his emails were the only things that kept her sane. 

"You didn't say how you were doing," she stalled. 

"I'm fine." 

Of course he was fine. He was the Deputy Chief of Staff and he was very happy with his girlfriend. Why shouldn't he be fine? "Oh. That's good," she said lamely. 

"You buy any more furniture for your place?" 

No. And she didn't have the heart to tell him that she still couldn't figure out how to get the bed unfurled so she just slept on the couch. "Not yet. Maybe after a few more paychecks." 

"I should go. I'll ... see you." 

"Bye." 

He left and willed himself not to turn back. Cliff freaking Calley! 

"She's dating someone else!" 

Stan nodded. "And this upsets you?" 

Josh stopped his pacing and ran a hand through his hair. "It's not supposed to though, right! I mean I wouldn't be this upset if she was really just a manifestation!" 

"Josh what do you want me to tell you?" 

"Tell me .... tell me which one I should pick!" he shouted. 

Stanley laughed outright. 

"Okay. Not helping." 

"Josh we've known each other for some time. I've helped you cope with the death of your sister, the death of your father, the stress of your job, and your bout with PTSD. I'm a very good therapist. But I can't make this choice for you." 

Josh fell into the large leather chair. "Why not? Just pick one. I'll put both of their names in a hat and..." 

"Josh. I told you to follow your gut." 

"My gut is a twisted mess. It won't point in any one given direction." 

"You know the answer. That's why your gut is a mess. You're here because you want my permission, but it's not mine to give. All I can tell you is that I think I know you pretty well. And I think someday, when you meet the right person, you'll be able to commit to her. I don't think it's the easiest thing in the world for you to do and I don't think it will happen often in your life. But you're not a man who is not capable of love. Does that help?" 

"No," he grumbled stubbornly still not ready to accept the fact that he'd been so wrong. "I've got to go. I've got a date with Amy." 

"Have fun." 

The fact that Josh wanted to punch him in the face was probably a good indication that Stanley was right. 

He had made his choice. 


	7. Other Woman, The 7

**The Other Woman**

**by:** Dee   


"So tell us, Donna. What do you remember most vividly about that day?" 

"I remember that it was cold. I remember thinking that I couldn't believe any place got as cold as Wisconsin in the winter, but Nashua was a close second. I remember someone pushing me in the back. He was trying to push his way up front, but I wouldn't give up my position because I wanted to see the President. We were told that the campaign workers could have the space closest to the stage. I thought if he kept pushing me, I was going to turn around and deck him." 

Larry chuckled and Donna chuckled too which helped to ease the gut wrenching fear she was feeling right now. She glanced over and spotted Josh walking up to CJ off camera and felt even better. He said he would come, but he'd been late. She had to go on without him. 

"So did you turn around and deck him?" 

"I turned around. I saw his face. His eyes were... empty. I'm not too sure what happened then. I guess I must have seen him reach for something in the waistband of his pants and I just thought ... No. I can't let him do this. So I did my best interpretation of Howie Long and tackled him. And then the gun went off." 

"Amazing. Okay folks we're going to take a break and then we'll be back to take your phone calls." 

"And we're clear." A cameraman said from a few feet away. 

Josh walked on to the set. "Hey Larry." 

"Josh. Good to see you. She's something this girl, isn't she?" 

"Yeah. She's something." He turned to her. "You doing okay?" 

Donna nodded. "I'm glad you're here." 

"I'm going to be right over there. If you get nervous or it doesn't start to feel right just look at me, okay." 

She nodded and took a sip of her water. 

"And Donna..." 

"That shirt doesn't really go with your suit." 

Immediately, Donna looked down at her self then up at him when she realized he was joking. "You're just bitter because I have fashion sense." 

"Yeah because that's something I've often regretted not having." Josh heard the cameraman start his countdown and he moved back off stage. 

"She's doing good," CJ whispered to him. 

Josh watched the rest of the interview and agreed. The people would respond to her. She had a quality about her that was infinitely real. Part of him hated to share her with the rest of the world. He wanted to wrap her up in a blanket and tell the world that he had found her first and it was their loss that they hadn't noticed her before. 

The other part of him was just plain proud. 

The show ended and Donna walked over to where Josh and CJ were standing. She let out a big sigh. "Okay, that wasn't so bad." 

"Told you," CJ smiled. "I already talked to Chuck and he said I can have you on Friday. We're going to film your spot for the add." 

Donna nodded and CJ went off to talk to Larry about his upcoming guest schedule. 

"You're sure you still want to do this?" Josh asked seeing her hesitation. 

"Let's just say I'm on minute fourteen and I'll be glad when the long hand reaches the twelve." 

He nodded. "Hey, how about I take you to dinner?" 

"Uh... I can't..." 

"Hey Donna." 

Josh turned around and spotted Calley approaching them. Okay, so obviously she wasn't clued into the fact that he had made his choice. 

"Josh." 

"Cliff." He hoped the other man couldn't hear his teeth grinding. 

"You ready, Donna?" 

"I just need to get my purse." Donna stared and the two men who were currently eyeing each other up and was grateful for any excuse to bolt. Suddenly the atmosphere seemed way too charged. 

"So you're taking her to dinner." 

"Yeah." 

"She likes pasta," Josh told the younger man. 

"Thanks." 

"And she's probably going to be a little tired tonight what with doing the show and everything. She's still not really a hundred percent." 

"I'll keep that in mind." 

Donna rejoined them both. "I'm ready." 

Cliff held out his hand and Josh couldn't stop staring at it. It was like some slow motion dream watching her reach out and take it. Then he was leading her away and the idea he had before about wrapping her up in a blanket and whisking her away from the rest of the world resurfaced. 

It was time he and Amy had a talk. 

"So what was that about?" 

"What was what about?" Donna asked as Cliff escorted her to his car. 

"The big brother routine from Lyman." 

"I told you. Josh is a friend, he..." 

"Took care of you after the shooting. I know. Donna is there something going on between you two?" 

"No," she stuttered. "He has a girlfriend." 

"So what you're saying is that there is nothing going on between you two because he has girlfriend." 

Donna considered that carefully. Dating a lawyer had its drawbacks. "No. I'm saying there is nothing going on between us. We're just friends." 

"Because you could tell me. I mean I like you. I would like to continue to see you, but I don't want to be a stand in." 

"You're not a stand in," she said and tried to make herself believe it. He was a nice guy and she knew from experience that they weren't that easy to come by. Pinning away for a man who was involved with someone else was a waste of time and she was determined to put it behind her. They were just friends. "So are you going to feed me or what?" she asked with a new surge of enthusiasm. 

"I was thinking pasta." 

"I love pasta!" 

Josh stared at the phone in his office. He had to make the call and he was dreading it. Worse he was dreading the meeting that he was about to arrange after making the call. That would in fact be worse then the call. 

Picking up the phone he dialed her number. 

"Hello." 

"Amy." 

"J." 

"What are you doing tonight?" 

"I was going to go to the gym after work." 

"Can we meet for drinks or something?" 

"Sure. Why don't you pick me up at the gym? Say around eight." 

"Okay." 

"Is something up?" 

"No, nothing... I just want to ... talk to you about something." Like the fact that he was pretty sure he'd fallen in love with another woman. "I'll see you at the gym." 

He hung up the phone and groaned. Man this was going to suck. He hated breaking up. Most times he just acted like a jerk until the woman in question got sick of him and would do the deed for him. But Amy deserved better. He'd chased her. He'd gotten in the middle of her relationship with another man. Maybe she would have ended it anyway, but he hadn't helped the situation. He promised her he wasn't a hit and run kind of guy. 

But in the end he didn't love her. He wanted to, but that wasn't the same as actually feeling it. 

Acting on impulse, he picked up the phone again and dialed another number he knew by heart. 

"Undersecretary McGovern's office." 

"Hi." 

"Hey." 

He caught himself smiling and realized that it had been a long time since the sound of Amy's voice had made him smile. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Working." 

Right. Stupid question. "Listen, I was thinking, you really need to paint your apartment." 

"I do?" 

"Yeah, and you should probably do it before you get more furniture. You know so you don't splatter paint on it." 

"Let me get this straight. You took time out from your job, which as you put it is to basically run the country, to call me and tell me I should paint my apartment?" 

"Yeah." 

"Okay. I like blue." 

"I'll buy the paint and come over... Saturday." 

"I have a date with Cliff on Saturday." 

"Another one?" He heard the disgust in his own voice and hoped it didn't register over the phone. 

"What's the matter with Cliff?" 

Apparently it did. "Nothing, it's just... you guys are getting pretty serious." 

"We're not that serious, Josh. I mean we haven't..." 

"Oh." That was good news. 

"And speaking of that, let me ask you something. The first time, I mean after you got shot, the first time you were with a woman...what did she think about the scar?" 

She was thinking of being with Cliff. That wasn't good news. "I never showed anybody the scar," he admitted. "I wear a t-shirt or pajamas." 

"Oh." 

The silence was almost overwhelming. 

"Break the date with Cliff." 

"You don't like him." 

"I don't know him. Break the date and we'll paint." 

"I can't. That's not fair to him." 

"Fine." Hey, he thought. He'd done it. He just learned to pack a whole lot of emotion into that one little word. 

"Fine," she returned her voice just as short. "I have to go." 

"Me too." He hung up the phone and cursed. Maybe he'd waited too long. What if she really liked this other guy? 

Then it occurred to him that it didn't matter. Whether or not he had a chance with Donna didn't mean he was going to feel any differently about Amy. He was ready to break up. 

He hoped she didn't hit him. She packed a pretty good wallop when she liked him; he shuddered to think how much damage she could inflict when she didn't. 


	8. Other Woman, The 8

**The Other Woman**

**by:** Dee   


Donna opened the door to the gym and stopped. She'd just joined last week to have access to the weights and the treadmill as she was still working on getting her strength back to a hundred percent. 

She hadn't known Amy was a member. 

Currently she was running on a treadmill directly in front of her. There was no way to leave casually. 

"Hey Donna." 

"Hi Amy." 

"You run?" Amy asked between breaths. 

"Sure." Not really, she thought. At lesat not since the shooting. Her plan had been to walk quickly. 

"This one's open. Run with me, you can keep me company." 

And why she would want her to do that was a mystery. They had met a few times, and Amy's disdain, though carefully hidden, was always palatable to Donna. But the challenge in her eyes was unmistakable and Donna figured what the hell. 

"I've just got to put my stuff in the locker." Donna walked away and prayed that someone would come along in the meantime and snatch the treadmill. 

No such luck. Amy had draped a towel over the arm to save it for her. Donna approached the treadmill and tried to be confident. She used to run all the time. She could do this. She just had to take it easy and keep her pace slow. 

She tightened her ponytail and set the controls on the treadmill for an easy run. She glanced over at Amy's time left. Twenty-seven minutes. Donna was pretty sure she could run for that long. 

The treadmill started and she eased into the walk letting her body get accustomed to the exercise. In minutes she was running. Okay, she thought. She could do this. 

"So how is the new job?" 

Now what she didn't know was if she could run and talk at the same time. 

"It's good." 

"Good. I know Josh was really happy to help you out. And I know he's happy to see you settled in your own place." 

Donna nodded and concentrated on her breathing. 

Amy hit a button on the treadmill and increased her speed. She glanced over at Donna and like an idiot Donna fell for it and increased her speed too. 

"Feels good, doesn't it." 

"Great," she gasped. This was ridiculous, she thought. She had nothing to prove to this woman. 

"You were really lucky. You could have been hurt a lot worse." 

Donna considered the weeks of agonizing pain she had to battle through and wondered how. 

"Admit it, you liked being taken care of," Amy smiled trying to make a joke out of her stay with Josh. 

That's it, Donna thought. This wasn't about keeping her company. This was about competition and Donna would not run herself into the ground for a man. Love wasn't something to be won. It was just something that happened. 

She was about to hit the stop button when she turned her head and spotted Josh walking toward them. He didn't look happy. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" 

"Josh," she tried to say, but it came out a little breathy. She wanted to tell him he was making a scene, but it was a little late. He yanked on the emergency release, which instantly powered down the treadmill and sent Donna tripping and falling to her knees. 

He grabbed her arm to help her up, but at this point Donna was more livid than hurt. 

"What did you do that for?" 

"Why in the hell were running that fast? You should see your face. You're no where near ready for this kind of exercise." 

"I was fine." She wasn't. But she had realized that on her own and was about to stop. 

By this time the gym was staring at them. Donna got to her feet as gracefully as she could. Amy had also powered down and was staring at the two of them. 

"Unbelievable," she muttered. She got off the treadmill and headed for the locker room. 

"Amy wait," Josh said following her. 

Thinking now would be a good time to exit, Donna grabbed her towel and took the long way around the gym. 

She saw Amy storm out of the locker room with her bag and her coat on, and saw Josh practically running to keep up. 

The woman sure did like to run. 

**** 

"Amy stop." 

They were outside now and his tone must have been more convincing this last time because she actually complied. 

"What do you think you can say that would make what happened in there okay?" 

Josh sighed. "Listen, I don't want to do this here." 

"Tough, because if you think I'm going anywhere with you..." 

"Amy, we need to talk." 

"Oh my God, you're so pathetic. What? You think I didn't get the point of that little showcase? That was for my benefit, wasn't it?" 

"What are you talking about?" 

"Oh Donna, you're so frail, stop running, you might hurt yourself," she mocked. "You're full of crap, Josh. I know what you were trying to do." 

"I was trying to get her to stop running. I don't know what the hell she was doing trying it in the first place." 

"Right." 

"I was," he said getting irritated. 

"And now you want to talk. Let me guess, you want to take a break." 

"I think...." 

She laughed harshly. "You know who I feel sorry for? I feel sorry for Donna. Poor pathetic little Donna who looks at you with her big blue eyes and doesn't even know that she's being used." 

"I'm not using Donna." 

"You are absolutely using Donna. You're falling into your standard pattern of chase the girl until you get her. Once you have her then it's time to panic." 

"This isn't about panic, Amy." 

"Let me see what was the last conversation we had before New Hampshire? Oh, that's right, I had talked about moving some of my stuff over to your place. Was that what did it? Did you think oh my gosh she might actually want to live with me?" 

"Why can't you just accept that it's not working out for us?" 

"Because it was working before she came along. She was your out." 

But it wasn't. He had just been playing a pretty good game of make believe with himself. "You know you always hang up on me first." 

"What?" 

"And you made fun of my Coco Puffs." 

"You're kidding me." 

"And every time we talk about anything it somehow always turns into a discussion on what I'm not doing to further the feminist cause." 

"The administration isn't doing enough." 

"But I'm not the administration! I'm me. And sometimes I like to hang out and eat Macaroni and Cheese and rattle off State Capitals." 

She laughed humorlessly. "And how long do you think you'll be happy doing that? Think about it J, you're not even going to have to chase this one. So you won't even have that thrill. She's so in love with you it's pathetic. I give you the time it takes, once you realize that we're over and you're free of any relationship obligations to me, to take one look at her and realize you're already bored. She is nothing more than your panic button. Good bye." 

He watched her walk away and didn't stop her. Part of him was afraid she might be right. He thought about what Stanley said about following his gut and prayed he knew what the hell he was talking about. 

He didn't want Donna to be a panic button. 

"Josh?" 

He turned and saw her standing there with her arms wrapped around her middle. With her hair pulled back and her face free of makeup she looked like a teenager. The good news was that he realized he was free of Amy and he was looking at Donna and he wasn't bored yet. 

"Sorry about the treadmill. You shouldn't have been running though." 

"I know. I was about to stop when you dropped me." 

He nodded and walked over to her. 

"Did she break up with you because of me?" Donna asked. 

"She broke up with me because of me. I broke up with her because of me. It wasn't working out." 

"But you thought you might love her," Donna reminded him. 

"I was wrong. I wanted to love her. It's not the same." 

"No. It isn't." 

"Take you home?" 

"Okay." 

She followed him to his car and got in as she tried to sort out what she was feeling. Josh wasn't with Amy any more. She felt good about that, but at the same time felt bad for feeling good about it. 

Just because they weren't together didn't mean that he wanted to be with her. Donna wasn't even sure she wanted to be with him. She was seeing sort of seeing Cliff now. 

"You eat?" he asked breaking the silence. 

"No." 

"You want to grab a bite." 

"I'm all icky from running." 

"Okay." 

She shifted in her seat, considered his profile, and felt her heart somersault. Silently, she made a mental note to call Cliff tomorrow and cancel their date. She didn't think she would be seeing him anymore. 

"I have Macaroni and Cheese." 

"Yeah?" 

"It's not super hero though." 

Josh turned to her. "Why wouldn't you buy the Super Hero kind? The other stuff is boring." 

"Because I think it's a little disconcerting biting into people." 

"But they're not normal people, their Super Heroes it's okay." 

"Tell that to Batman when I sink my teeth into his pointed little ears." 

Josh smiled and realized what she was trying to do. "I'm okay, Donna. I was picking Amy up tonight to tell her I didn't think it was working out. She just beat me to it." 

"That doesn't mean you can't be sad about it. You thought this person was going to be important in your life and now you find out she's not. Whether it's her choice or yours doesn't make the experience any less deflating." 

He stopped the car at the red light and glanced at her. "You're really wise, you know that." 

Donna beamed. "I just know people. I'm a people person, Josh." 

"Amy used to call me J." 

"I know." 

"I hated it." 

"Me too. Why didn't you tell her?" 

"Cause." 

"Cliff chews his food with his mouth open." 

"Bastard." 

"I don't think I can eat with him anymore." 

"Does that mean you're free for apartment painting?" 

"Only if I get to pick the colors without any input from you." 

"But..." 

"It's my apartment, Josh." 

"But ..." 

"And you have no sense of color." 

"You said I have no sense of fashion." 

"Well you have to have a sense of color before you can have a sense of fashion." 

"Fine, but if I have to paint a whole apartment periwinkle blue or something equally ridiculous then you have to order manly sandwiches and have beer on hand." 

"You can have the beer only after you're done." 

"But..." 

"It's my apartment. And I want it neat. And pray tell what constitutes a manly sandwich?" 

"Meatball," he replied instantly. 

Donna considered this. "Okay." 

"Deal." 

"Deal." 

"Fine." And it was fine he thought. He didn't know what was going to happen from this point forward. Frankly, he wasn't ready to think about a future with Donna when he'd just ended what he had thought was going to be his future with Amy. 

But one thing he knew for sure... Donna would never bore him. He figured the best thing he could do for now was follow his gut. 

"Can you put the hot dogs in the macaroni again?" 

Donna laughed. "Yes, Josh. You can have all the hot dogs you want." 

THE END. 

See the Sequel: "Friends and Lovers" 


End file.
